WASHINGTON — Democratic Congressman Shomari Figures tripled his Republican opponent State Rep. Rhett Marques’ fundraising haul in the third quarter as the two compete in a tight race for Alabama’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District.
Recent campaign filings submitted Thursday show Figures brought in more than $1 million from the last week of July through September. Marques raised about $317,000 during that same period.
Figures, who is in an uphill climb to keep the seat blue after Alabama Republicans redraw the map to help give their party an edge, has been bolstered by national Democratic fundraising.
A Democratic joint fundraising committee dedicated to helping vulnerable incumbents transferred $219,500 to Figures’ campaign committee in the third quarter.
Nearly $500,000 of Figures’ contributions came from individual donors in Q3. About $269,000 stemmed from political action committees.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and her leadership PAC gave Figures a total of $7,000 during the third quarter. Several other House Democrats contributed to the congressman, including fellow Alabama Democrat U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Birmingham.
Coinbase Innovation PAC, a pro-crypto group, contributed $2,500 to the Alabama Democrat. Uber, L3 Harris Technologies and New York Life Insurance Company PACs each gave $5,000 over the past two months.
In the third quarter, Figures’ campaign committee spent about $338,000, mostly on travel, lodging and catering expenses.
Figures entered October with a $1.38 million war chest.
This cycle, Figures has raised a total of $2.4 million and spent about $1.4 million.
Rhett Marques
Of Marques’ $317,000 fundraising haul in Q3, a little over half of his total contributions came from individual donors, totaling nearly $191,000.
Campaign finance records show political action committees contributed $106,000 to the Enterprise Republican from the last week in July through September.
Several Alabama-based PACs contributed to Marques’ campaign committee in the third quarter, including Drummond Company of Birmingham, which gave him $5,000, for a total of $10,000 this cycle. The Alabama Farmers Federation PAC, which endorsed the state representative, also donated $5,000 in Q3 for a total of $10,000.
Political action committees for Birmingham law firm Maynard Nexsen, Protective Life and Regions Financial each gave Marques’ campaign $5,000.
Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio’s leadership PAC contributed $5,000 to Marques’ campaign along with $2,000 from the congressman’s campaign committee. House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan also gave to the Alabama Republican.
From the last week in July through September, Marques campaign spent about $177,000 on expenses such as media buys, travel and direct mail.
Marques entered October with about $328,000 cash on hand.
Overall this cycle, Marques has raised about $1.6 million and spent about $1.3 million.
State of play
Both parties see the 2nd District as a key race that could help determine who controls Congress after the midterms.
The Cook Political Report rates the race as likely Republican, in a district that President Donald Trump would have won by 14 points in 2024.
But Democrats are fundraising heavily and outside groups have invested millions in campaign advertising to keep the seat blue.
A Trump-aligned super PAC boosted its ad spending in the race this week, topping $2 million to support Marques’ bid.
The general election is Nov. 3. The last day to register to vote is Monday.